On Yer Bike!

The Tour de France on a motorcycle

John Newman

• JohnNewman
• GreatRoads
• Triumph
• TourDeFrance

Yorkshire has gone mad! Cycling mad that is. Because on July 5th and 6th the county is hosting two stages of the Tour De France; billed as the 'Worlds greatest cycle race', and oop 'ere, given the cosmopolitan title of 'Le Grand Depart'.
Posters in libraries, town halls, tourist offices and other public information locations extol the virtues of the race and encourage people to not only turn out to spectate; which people will do in their tens of thousands, but also to ride the same route as the Tour competitor teams. So I did; on a Triumph Bonneville T100 – thanks to the Triumph press fleet people for the loan.


The two stages of the Tour negotiate some of the most scenic, spectacular and interesting landscapes Yorkshire has to offer, and riding the Stages using power other than leg work is a good way to fill some summer motorcycling hours.

Stage One will begin on Saturday July 5th outside the grand facade of Leeds Town Hall. Bang in the centre of town. One of those public buildings that were erected in northern cities to demonstrate  status and civic pride, in a time when industrial wealth dominated the country's economy.
  
It runs over 190 kilometres in a loop to Harrogate, and the geographical attractions comprise the road through Wharfedale passing Harewood House on the outskirts of Leeds and then the attractive market towns of Otley, Ilkley and Skipton: before heading out into the narrow stone wall lined roads of the Yorkshire Dales. It makes a decent outing on a motorcycle with lots of good stopping off points for pictures, tea, cakes, pies, chips or whatever pushes your culinary buttons  

As soon as I had parked up outside the Town Hall building to take the first pictures, a bloke came over  to admire the bike. He has considered buying a 'Bonnie', and currently rides a Kawasaki ER650 for a 100 mile round trip commute. He liked the traditional look and paint job on the T100. But anyone signing up for this model will have to enjoy regularly cleaning of the myriad shiny parts to maintain its looks.





Along the tour route farmers and others will try and make the most of the expected crowds, and are offering camping and car parking. With some of the more ambitious laying on music, mini beer fests and other entertainment. Park your car in a field on the course at prices ranged from £5 - £10. Make money hay while the bikes race by. It may never pass that way again.

It's from Skipton that the better riding interest for motorcyclists begins on the B265/B6160 to Grassington and Kettlewell. There are bends, swoops, dips and narrow sections with some wider places where it's possible to dispose of slower vehicles. Or you can choose to cruise and watch as the hill and fell scenery begins to unfold. Which is more than the Tour riders will be able to do, as the crowded Peloton is notorious for crashes.
I watched a press conference with one of the professional teams who were doing a pre-race exploratory ride. They were not that impressed with the proximity of the dry stone walls with displays of jagged protruding stone. It would be injurious enough scraping or hitting one of these in protective bike gear let alone the Lycra type outfits that cling to their bodies.
The first climb of interest comes at Kidstones, between Kettlewell and Aysgarth (the B6160 continuing). It's a steep climb to the upper fells with a few tight bends, and on the Bonneville with its mega flexible big twin engine slung low down in a 'orthodox' cradle frame, it was easy to ride slowly enough and take in the grand views before dropping down to Aysgarth and joining the A684, one of the areas great biking roads – it runs from Northallerton in North Yorkshire through to Kendall in Cumbria, and delivers just about everything you could want from the seventy six Tarmaced miles.

I made a stop in Hawes at the Penny Garth cafe, a popular spot for us motorcyclists - Hawes is one of the towns that has really embraced the Tour with a three day music festival taking place over the race weekend. The next notable climb for the cycle racers starts from here, the Buttertubs Pass; and although much has been made of this, it will be a mere slope compared to the Alps and Pyrenees.
It's down the other side into Swaledale that holds more danger. Narrow and twisty, it demands concentration riding a motorcycle. The Tour motorcyclists filming the live action will need to hold a decent speed to stay ahead of the faster guys. Wouldn't that be a good gig; camera bike rider for the top cycles races? Does anyone know where to apply?

The Tour turns right along the B6270 through the Swaledale villages. But if you're riding here you can continue on a higher fell road to Tan Hill and England's highest pub, a popular and perennial target for groups and ride outs. But I swung the Bonneville along the Tour route, enjoying the sunshine and a low slung motorcycle that was easy to manoeuvre through the pretty villages, around the ramblers and over small stone bridges. The pubs and houses have hung little yellow bicycles and other paraphernalia up to promote a welcome atmosphere.
After the swing through Swaledale the route is on 'A' roads again (6108) through Leyburn, Masham, Ripon (A61) and on to the finish at Harrogate, where I tried to find the end of the stage, but the after work traffic and tourist coaches defeated me.

No, not banned pharmaceuticals or blood supplements made infamous by Lance Armstrong and others. I just didn't begin at the beginning in York, mainly because the first part of Stage Two (200 kilometres York to Sheffield) repeated some of the roads at the end of Stage One. Instead I picked the route up in Keighley and Haworth, where, in contrast to other places, you wouldn't have known the 'world's greatest cycle race' was passing through. Such was the lack of banners, pennants and yellow bicycles.

It's out of Haworth across the moors to Hebden Bridge (A6033) that the real riding fun begins on a motorcycle. Long sweeping bends across the open moorland, and then a steep drop through woodland bends – watch the damp patches - into the Calder Valley to Hebden. The T100 Bonneville is not the 'rebellious' symbol of the 50's and 60's: when stripped down cafe racers based on the Bonneville ruled and 'intimidated', in line with much else in motorcycling this is now a more genteel smart looking machine for the leisure and pleasure rider. But it can still be pushed into bends at a decent pace if you need to occasionally satisfy the inner racer.  


Cragg Vale, running from the village of Mytholmroyd to the moors above Ripponden, is the longest continuous gradient in England. Rising 938 feet over a five and half mile distance. There are usually plenty of pedallers up and down here, and because of the Tour the cycle traffic has increased markedly. There is chatter within the motorcycle world of making common political cause with cycling as we are share the category of 'vulnerable road user'. About time too. For too long organisations representing the two strands of two wheel riding have been throwing brickbats at each other. I remember the spat over motorcycles in bus lanes, and how some in the cycle lobby were predicting carnage. Hasn't happened. We have many issues in common and we are surely stronger together.  

Talking of vulnerable road users. One of the 'bonus' outcomes of the Tour is the fact that a whole raft of road repairs have been taking place: patching, filling, resurfacing. So get your local authority to bid for a major cycle race. It might be the only way to get the roads upgraded round your way!

The big Stage Two interest once through Huddersfield is the ascent of Holme Moss, the highest cross Pennine road, and the subsequent descent to the fringes of the Peak District. Many spectators will want to be here, probably in thousands, and food, drink and camping is all laid on. This stretch of road is said to be one of Jamie Whitam's favourites – he lives in the area. It's certainly one of mine, but I rarely get the technical twisties exactly right, whatever motorcycle I'm riding.
The descent can be scary if you don't control the throttle. But because of the Tour a couple of bike jarring ramps have been smoothed away. Not sure if this is good or bad as it acted as decelerator as you knew what was about to waggle the bars.
This road connects to the A628 Woodhead Pass, one of a network of very good roads to ride in this  in this area. And you can follow signs to Glossop and link up with the A57; the 'famous' Snake Pass. The Tour riders will tackle Woodhead and then mosey on to the finish in Sheffield via Langsett, another spectator 'hub' where a whole bunch of Tour related activity will be laid on.
The Tour goes through Yorkshire on July 5th/6th, and you can find details of the Tour routes and road closures at www.letour.yorkshire.com. Or you can gen up on the routes for riding later in the summer when all the fuss is over. Note the Peloton passes by in about ninety seconds.


Triumph make much of the Bonneville T100's sixties styling, and they have created a decent looking 'retro' package with this bike; right down to the fork gaiters. The model I rode had the Fusion White and Aurum Gold colour scheme, but it comes in Jet Black and Cranberry Red too. On several occasions when I was with the bike it drew admiring comments. Nostalgia, or have Triumph pulled off a good styling exercise?
The engine is certainly a big smoothie with 865cc's on tap. A combination of balance shafts in the crankcase and fuelling controlled by a computer management system certainly tames any vibration. Power is delivered through a five speed gearbox, but I often found myself reaching for gear number six once it was rolling near to seventy mph. Being a naked bike with an upright riding position it doesn't encourage high speed riding, but there is plenty of oomph in the cylinders if that's the way you want to go.
It handled very confidently and was easy to manoeuvre at slow speeds and in tight traffic situations. I found this aspect of the bike particularly friendly as I was doing a lot of on/off when stopping for pictures and legging and pushing the bike into various positions. Triumph extol the virtues of this Bonneville as one that is friendly to newer riders who take it on as their first big bike; and I'd agree.
It comes with a price tag of £7,499 and there is a range of accessories to make a riders touring or commuting life more comfortable www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk
John Newman for Wemoto News
Anyone know this part of the world? Email us at [email protected]